London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
West Ham 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION. There were four cases of this disease (2 males and 2
females). The age Incidence was 1 at one year, two at 2 years and one at seven years,
There was one death, a girl aged 7 years.
ACUTE POLIOMYELITIS. There were 22 confirmed cases during the year (15 paralytic
and 7 non-paralytic), an increase of 14 on the previous year. Twenty other suspected cases
were reported but were found not to be suffering from the disease. All cases were admitted
to hospital. There were no deaths.
The cases were widely distributed over the area and all occurred during four months
of the year-5 in July, 10 in August, 4 in September, and 3 in October. Follow-up of the
contacts was carried out by a medical officer, usually the Deputy Medical Officer of Health.
Two cases occurred in one family, one non-paralytic and one paralytic. The nonparalytic
case was the earlier onset and was diagnosed in hospital in a neighbouring
authority.
The arrangements for gathering the weekly notification figures from surrounding areas
and distributing the tabulated results to the contributing Health Departments continued as in
the previous year; this gave a valuable picture of the overall incidence at any one time to
the responsible Authorities concerned.
The age and sex incidence of the confirmed cases was as follows:
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 1 | 1 |
| 1-4 years | 2 | 2 |
| 5-9 years | 3 | 8 |
| 10-14 years | 1 | 1 |
| 15-24 years | - | - |
| Over 25 years | 2 | 1 |
ERYSIPELAS, Eighteen cases
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 0-14 years | - | - |
| 15-44 years | 2 | 7 |
| 45-64 years | 3 | 4 |
| 65 years+ | 1 | 1 |
| TOTAL: | 6 | 12 |
The occupational incidence for males included a hairdresser, an ambulance driver,
a dock labourer, a storekeeper, a railway worker and a timber porter; for females, an
ex-nurse, a factory hand, domestic workers, a packer, and housewives. The seasonal
incidence was as below.
January/March 3 cases
April/June 6 cases
July/September 2 cases
October/December 7 oases
14